For Whom the Algorithm Ranks: What Ernest Hemingway Can Teach Us About GEO
A Hemingway-inspired perspective on Generative Engine Optimization and what hospitality brands can learn about visibility in AI-driven search.
Opinion Articles
How AI delivers real hotel guest personalization—beyond a name on a welcome screen
AI guest journey agents and AR staff tools are closing the gap between the 68% of guests willing to pay more for personalized stays and the 56% of hotels lacking technology to deliver it.
By Alan Young, VP, Strategy | Hospitality, Infor
The Hotel Identity You Chose to Protect May Be the One AI Cannot See
AI travel assistants interpret hotel identity rather than match keywords, putting soft-brand affiliates at risk of being deprioritized when their boutique and chain signals conflict.
By Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach for Hotels, Are Morch, Digital Transformation Coach
When Luxury Outside Hospitality Learns to Host, What Happens to Hotels?
Non-hotel luxury brands like Audemars Piguet and NYC listening club Stylus are reshaping guest expectations around atmosphere and belonging, challenging hotels to rethink pricing, identity, and what makes their experience irreplaceable.
By Sébastien Felix, Founder, Influence Society
The Death of the Department: Why the Hotel Org Chart Is a Revenue Structure, Not a Guest Structure
A hospitality educator argues that traditional hotel org charts fragment guest value across siloed departments, and proposes practical steps including RevPAG tracking, cross-functional teams, and realigned incentives.
By Julia Krebs, Senior Lecturer and Hospitality Consultant, Les Roches-Marbella
Gen Z and the Future of Luxury Consumption
Gen Z is reshaping luxury by prioritizing experiences, authenticity, and resale over logos, with major implications for hospitality operators and goods brands competing for younger consumers.
By Emma Näpänkangas, M.Sc. Student in Hospitality Management, EHL
Hotel gyms: dead space or untapped revenue? Five tips to make them work
Drawing on Cornell data and Cushman Wakefield research, the piece weighs the $100K annual opportunity cost of a hotel gym against its potential to attract wellness-focused travelers and drive loyalty.
The half of corporate travel that's growing skips the RFP
Independent hotels can capture growing unmanaged corporate travel by loading rates into the GDS, bypassing RFPs entirely and appearing in corporate booking tools where off-channel spend is being corralled.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
The Towel That Came Home
A narrative case study of an 180-room Atlantic coast hotel that lost roughly $12,000 annually for eight years due to linen diversion by a trusted housekeeping director, exposing the cost of single-person inventory control.
By David Lund, The Hotel Financial Coach, David Lund
Do Not Discount Into Strength
Using sports betting market logic, the author argues hotels lose revenue on peak nights by leaving discounts active, ignoring LOS controls, or allowing parity gaps when demand guarantees full occupancy.
By André Santos, Director of Hospitality Solutions EMEA, Duetto
Planning for Hyper-Personalization Integrated Guest Service
A strategic framework for implementing hyper-personalization in hospitality, covering data collection, guest segmentation, AI tools, omnichannel approaches, and ROI planning for lodging operators.
By Robert O’Halloran, Professor Director, School of Hospitality Leadership, East Carolina University
Winning Over OTA Guests with Trust and Convenience in the Website and CRM
Hotels can reduce OTA commissions by making their websites more convenient than third parties and using CRM data to send personalized, trust-building emails rather than generic promotional offers.
By Adam Mogelonsky and Larry Mogelonsky
AI is confidently wrong about your hotel, and the guest arrives believing it
AI tools confidently describe hotels based on outdated sources, leaving front desk staff to manage guest disappointment when closures, renovations, or changes don't match expectations.
By Markus Busch, Editor/Publisher, hospitality.today
What happens when hoteliers decide to break the mold – and the front desk?
Three European hoteliers share how they eliminated or reinvented the front desk, with approaches ranging from full automation at Limehome's 13,000 rooms to a human-first model at a 14-room property outside Amsterdam.
Satisfied Guests Don't Come Back
Mood Media survey data shows nearly two-thirds of guests rank atmosphere above price and service when choosing hotels, with 60% having recommended a property specifically because of its design.
By Kevin Jones, VP & GM of QSR, Franchise & Hospitality Brands, Mood Media
HFTP’s AI Collective Solidifies Roadmap to Provide Industry-wide Resources
HFTP's Hospitality AI Collective unveiled a strategic roadmap, five subcommittees, and an AI certification program expected to launch Summer 2026, targeting industry-wide AI education, governance, and research.
By Frank Wolfe, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HFTP
Summer Revenue Leakage Is Born in Decision Latency, Not Demand Volatility
The article argues summer revenue leakage stems from slow decision workflows, not unpredictable demand, and outlines a phased shift from static reporting to live, bounded automation.
By Samuel Johnson, Head of Operations, LodgIQ™
Transitioning Out of Hotel Operations into Asset Management or Hotel Consulting? You Need to Think Like an Owner
A guide for hotel operations professionals on the financial frameworks owners, asset managers, and consultants use, covering NOI, capital stacks, debt sizing, and equity structures.
By Stephen Rushmore, Hotel Valuation Expert and Founder of HVS, Hotel Valuation Software
The Power of a Negative Review
Research shows 31% of customers distrust businesses with no negative reviews, making how hotels respond to criticism a stronger marketing signal than five-star ratings alone.
By Shep Hyken, Customer Service and Experience Expert, Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author, Shepard Presentations, LLC.
The Hospitality Industry Has Been Looking at Demand All Wrong
A 30-year hotel developer argues that repeat visitation, driven by universities, medical districts, and community ties, is a more reliable demand signal than traditional destination discovery metrics.
By Gary Brandels, CEO, Scholar Hotels